Bread product edge toasting shield for conveyor toaster

Abstract

Edges of English muffins and certain other types of bread products known to burn during toasting are protected from burning by a bread product edge toasting shield. One embodiment of the bread product edge shield is a baffle formed of orthogonal or substantially orthogonal metal strips. A second embodiment is a cylindrical tube. The edge toasting shield blocks infrared energy waves that would otherwise be incident upon the bread product edges at angles of incidence less than about eighty degrees relative to horizontal.

1 . An apparatus for heating bread products by an infrared heating source, the apparatus comprising:
 a toaster having first and second openings and an infrared energy source;   a conveyor passing through at least one of the first and second openings and past the infrared energy source;   a bread product edge shield attached to the conveyor, the bread product edge shield being sized, shaped and arranged to receive a bread product therein and to prevent infrared energy emitted from the infrared energy source from impinging on the edges of bread products at low angles of incidence.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the bread product edge shield is comprised of a plurality of spaced apart walls attached to the conveyor, said apparatus being further comprised of a plurality of spaced-apart walls attached to said toaster, the walls attached to the conveyor being substantially orthogonal to the walls attached to the toaster and spaced apart from each other to allow walls attached to the toaster to pass between them. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conveyor is segmented and wherein the bread product edge shield is comprised of at least one cylinder attached to at least one segment of said conveyor. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the spaced apart walls attached to said toaster extend from the infrared energy source downwardly toward the conveyor and wherein the spaced apart walls attached to the conveyor extend upwardly from said conveyor. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a cabinet having first and second opposite sides, the first side having a first opening, the second side having a second opening, the conveyor extending through the first and second openings. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein walls attached to the conveyor are oriented to be parallel to a direction of travel of said conveyor. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein walls attached to the conveyor are oriented to be orthogonal to a direction of travel of said conveyor. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the bread product edge shield is comprised of a plurality of U-shaped compartments. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the bread product edge shield is comprised of a rectangular compartment, formed from separate wall segments that extend vertically from a plurality of conveyor segments, which comprise the conveyor. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conveyor is comprised of segments that form a belt, which travels around spaced-apart rollers. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the conveyor is configured to pass under a plurality of infrared emitters inside the cabinet.